Innholdsfortegnelse for October 9, 2017 i India Today

When Amit Shah took over as BJP president in August 2014, there were nine BJP or BJP-led governments in the states. Today, there are 18. Thanks to the vast network of committed RSS workers, Shah has been able to convert Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma into votes, transforming the BJP into a smart, sharp electoral behemoth. Now it must become a 21st century org anisation run on scientific lines, one that can win polls as smoothly as run governments. But to understand the new BJP, we have to rewind to the era before the Age of Modi. Their first taste of power was in 1977 when the mish-mash Janata Party coalition of 12 parties defeated Indira Gandhi’s Congress post-Emergency. In that, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (as it was known then)…

Pulling a rabbit out of his hat in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that every village in India would have uninterrupted power by December 31, 2018 and every household would be on the grid by March, 2019. Families that meet certain criteria will get electricity free, while others will receive it at highly subsidised rates. Commentators have suggested this is a pre-election sop to influence state elections later this year and the general election in 2019. But should Modi get over the usual ‘last-mile-connectivity’ hurdles, the so-called ‘Saubhagya yojana’ will be among the most significant achievements of his time in office. 16,320 CRORE THE ESTIMATED COST OF PROVIDING ELECTRICITY TO ALL HOUSEHOLDS IN INDIA UNDER THIS SCHEME 60 PER CENT OF THE COST WILL BE BORNE BY THE CENTRE.…

RETURN OF THE ECONOMISTS Is it the end of bureaucrats and politicians framing economic policy? You’d be excused if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s revival of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) on September 25 led you to think so. To be headed by Bibek Debroy, who was formerly part of NITI Aayog, and to include economists such as Ratan Watal, Rathin Roy, Surjit Bhalla and Ashima Goyal, the EAC might take over policy-making from both the finance ministry and NITI Aayog. It was Arvind Subramaniam, who recently got a year’s extension as Chief Economic Advisor, who urged the PM to revive the EAC, an idea the NDA-II government had abandoned. Breakfast Diplomacy Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan to badminton star P.V. Sindhu, they have all sat around it—Pinarayi Vijayan’s breakfast table at…

Hard taskmaster. His pace leaves even top leaders gasping for breath. Covers 750 km a day, has made some 350 trips to states Leads by example. As a rule, stays in party offices, not in five-star hotels, travels by commercial aircraft, not chartered ones Workers’ president, accessible to those with genuine problems. Allows an open forum in all indoor meetings Emphasis on ideological rejuvenation of the party, based on Deendayal Upadhyaya’s thoughts. First step is to run party on donations by cheque only Laser-like focus on goals. When BJP won in UP, he didn’t waste time on celebrations, but focused on forming governments in Goa and Manipur where the party fell short of a majority…

Many Indian actors have featured in British productions, but only a handful have played a titular role. In Victoria & Abdul, which hits Indian theatres on October 6, Ali Fazal stands tall and regal alongside Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench. He plays Abdul Karim, an Indian clerk sent to London in 1887 to bestow Queen Victoria with a ceremonial coin. Charmed, the queen appoints him as her Urdu teacher and advisor on India, a country she has never visited. For Fazal, still making inroads in Bollywood eight years after his debut, the magnitude of the role isn’t lost. He wasn’t invited to try out for the part. Nevertheless, he sent two audition clips to casting director Nandini Shrikent after a talent agent friend alerted him to the project. Soon, he…

It started as a simple comic book storyline: Steve Rogers, unable to fulfill his duties as Captain America, passes on the mantle to his best friend of many years, Sam Wilson (The Falcon). But after an unexpectedly fierce backlash from readers, the story morphed into a thinly veiled social commentary on the moral decline of one of the world’s most powerful nations. The first volume of Sam’s foray into the role was collected into a graphicnovel titled Not My Captain America—borrowed from a direct quote from the thousands of comments and letters that poured in before the first issue was even available. There have been many Captain Americas besides Steve Rogers, but none received a fraction of the hate mail that Wilson did. The reason: while all of the other…

Selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars, director Amit Masurkar’s Newton is the real thing. It’s been winning awards on the film festival circuit, and now that it’s finally been released in India, it seems it will also be a commercial success—perhaps despite or perhaps because it breaks away from various Hindi stereotypes. A political satire that addresses India’s election system and the State’s treatment of scheduled tribes, Newton combines the laidback charm of the films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sai Paranjpe and Amol Palekar with the gripping politics of a mid-’80s film by a Shyam Benegal or a Sudhir Mishra—without their sometimes overbearing intensity. With a tightly written story and deft, understated performances by all four actors in the major roles, it’s a remarkable achievement and a fresh breeze…

To withstand the test of time is a sign of strength of character, to defy the fleeting nature of fashion is a sign of true style. In the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Ceramic Clous De Paris, the brand’s iconic model has been re-imagined in black and white ceramic with a “clous de Paris” finish, limited to just 28 pieces. The symbol of Jaquet Droz, is revisited in a combination of Roman and Arabic numerals, and accentuated by a dial featuring a “clous de Paris” motif. The fabric strap also bears the stamp of the “clous de Paris” motifs, while the watch’s monochrome style infuses it with an aura of simplicity, highlighting the poetry of these timepieces, whose power reserve of 68 hours makes them perfect daily companions. The ceramic that…

Since most of the private charters offer bespoke programmes, prices vary according to types of aircrafts and number of hours booked. Costs can vary from US$ 11,200 to 17,500 an hour, but can be significantly reduced by flying efficiently, that is, one hour of flying in a day is more expensive than seven hours a day since longer flying hours are incentivised by operators. Also, smaller aircrafts are cheaper to fly than larger ones. Challenger 350 costs US approximately $ 11,200 an hour Challenger 850 costs around US$ 14,500 an hour Challenger 605 costs US around $ 13,000 The Global 6000, used on transatlantic US$ 17,500 flights an hour , costs , (and even at this price, is only 1/3rd the cost a private jet owner would pay)…

ime-travel is not just for sci-fi enthusiasts. To do this old-school and with a little imagination, you can catch a train or flight to Chennai. Once you land in Tamil Nadu’s capital, you are a few hours drive away from a visit to the 1,000-year-old Chola Empire, the kingdom that under Rajendra Chola reached the peak of its power, encompassing South India, India’s East coast, Sri Lanka and parts of East Asia. During the reign of King Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the capitals of the Chola Empire were in Thanjavur and in Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Now a millennium later, the architecture of that era still stands, and these places are worth visiting to step inside these buildings, and be briefly transported. Travelling from Thanjavur to Poompuhar, you get…

Lucknow, with its rich history is the perfect retreat for those looking to immerse themselves in the traditions of the North. Given that hotels chains are now eyeing smaller cities, it comes as no surprise that after the Renaissance and Lebua hotels, the Hyatt Regency has made its way to Lucknow. While this hotel does not go all out on the frills front, given that it is chiefly a business hotel, there’s something simple and pleasing about its structure and interiors. With meeting areas being a prime focus here, there is close to 19,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space including a 4,200 sq ft Regency Ballroom. Its location, 20 minutes from the airport and in the middle of the business zone, gives it further points. Perfect for…

The much-awaited annual flowering of plants at Kaas Plateau has finally begun. Popularly known as Maharashtra's own mini Valley of Flowers, the region has more than 850 species of flowering plants of which 624 species have entered the Red Data Book, which documents rare and endangered species of plants. While tour companies organise day trips, you can also register on the Kaas Plateau website and make a trip on your own. They allow only 3,000 visitors a day so it's important to register online before you go. Price Rs 100 Details kas.ind.in . Getting There It's 135 km from Pune so drive to Satara and then travel for 25 km to reach the flower plateau.…

Can’t the Swachh Bharat mission extend to cleaner jobs for India’s waste workers—sewage workers and manual scavengers? Keeping an Indian city clean can literally be fatal. In July and August this year, 10 sewage workers died in Delhi, at work. In Mumbai, the Hindustan Times in February 2017 reported an extraordinary figure of 30 sewage worker deaths from 2014 to 2017. And that’s just incomplete data from bigger cities—only the tip of the iceberg. When a worker enters the sewage network, he lowers himself, literally, via a manhole, into the city’s liquefied shit. His job, typically, is to clear an obstruction that may be blocking the sewage network. But the goo inside is toxic and noxious, sometimes gaseous and sometimes just a liquid mass that can drown or knock a…

In late August, the Indian government asked Twitter to block over 100 users in Kashmir for “propagating objectionable content”. This wouldn’t have shown up in the latest Twitter Transparency Report, which covers the first half of 2017. Still, the report noted a rise in requests by the Indian government for information about users or to block or remove content. Recently, BJP president Amit Shah and home minister Rajnath Singh warned supporters not to fall for ‘fake news’ on social media. PM Narendra Modi remains enthusiastic about the medium, though, even following a few of his most ferocious defenders—a gesture that was roundly criticised after the allegedly ideologically motivated murder of editor Gauri Lankesh on September 5. 261 REQUESTS MADE BY THE CENTRE TO TWITTER FOR INFORMATION ABOUT USERS, SPECIFYING 659…

Suu Kyi has little room for manoeuvre given the hostility of the army, clergy and Burman majority against the Rohingyas Over the past several years, there have been repeated eruptions of ethnic violence against the Rohingya community, in which the Myanmar army, the local Burman population and particularly the militant Buddhist clergy have been complicit. When I was serving as Indian ambassador in Yangon, I had visited a UNHCR camp near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, where several Rohingya families were being sheltered after their houses were burnt and they had to flee their villages, being targeted by their Burman neighbours. What is different this time is the scale of the violence and the numbers who are fleeing across the borders, mainly to Bangladesh, but some to India, Thailand and Malaysia. The…

1 Appointing over 375,000 vistaraks, part-time party workers, in order to expand the BJP’s footprint across the country 2 Strengthen the party’s presence at the booth level—a unit with 1,000 voters. Booth committees are framed keeping voter caste structure in mind. Volunteers told to constantly engage with voters 3 Poach leaders and workers from other parties to leapfrog BJP numbers and establish a presence 4 Construct offices in all 670 party districts; 30 new ones added to the existing 114, 388 more in the works 5 Main election thrust on Modi’s image as a doer, his pro-poor schemes such as Jan Dhan, Ujjwala, Mudra and Start-up India, as also his fight against corruption…

1 Speed up the completion of border roads Only 16 of the 73 India-China border roads have been completed. The deadline of 2022 needs to be brought forward 2 Transit through Bangladesh Agree ments for road, rail and sea access to India’s northeast through Bangladesh inked in 2015 could offset the strategic vulnerability of the Siliguri corridor 3 Longer sensory reach for the army and IAF in the northeast The army and air force surveillance capabilities are severely limited and mutually exclusive of each other. They also lack all-weather, continuous surveillance. Needs to be integrated for real-time data flow 4 Longer strike reach for forces in the Northeast No high value targets near the borders for the army or air force on the Tibetan plateau whereas nearly all of north…

THE HOUR OF GOD STARTED A tad too early for some in Mysuru. On September 18, just a day before Devi Durga commenced her divine journey to planet earth, over a hundred citizens set out on a mythic trip. Troops of motorbikes took off from the Dalit colony in Ashokapuram to shower flowers on an iconic statue at the top of the Chamundi Hills, towering over the panoramic skyline of the city: Mahishasura, the buffalo-demon. Brightly painted, fiercely moustachioed, 12 feet tall, a sword in one hand and a serpent in the other, he was installed by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last Maharaja of Mysuru, at the entrance of the ancient Chamundeshwari temple of goddess Durga in the 1940s. But this was the first time in memory that he received obeisance.…

Jerry Seinfeld was the comic voice of the ’90s. But in the iconic ‘show about nothing’— beamed to 35 million American households at the peak of its popularity—Seinfeld mostly delivered lines written by Larry David. Of course, the real Jerry is a real standup comedian too, though the show featured only brief snippets from his act. 30 years later, his Netflix special, Jerry Before Seinfeld, is a masterclass in the craft—proving that his signature style is still relevant. Jerry features the first two jokes Seinfeld ever told (that worked), making it essential viewing for comedy and Seinfeld fans alike. Long-time admirers will also be delighted with his riffs on the burning philosophical questions of our times—“why do you get on the train?” and “what do you do with Uber?” DirectedbyMichaelBonfiglio,…

One of the first things to keep in mind before watching the Death Note, the Hollywood version, is to not watch it at all. The Death Note manga series is one of the best of its kind. It boasts such a huge global fan following that Hollywood director Adam Wingard was forced to flee Twitter for this trashy remake—which debuted on Netflix this month. He’s not alone. Manga almost never succeeds as live-action film. Just ask M. Night Shyamalanwhose remake of The Last Airbender was also beyond awful. As a Japanese anime series, Death Note is an addictive psychological thriller where a super smart student, called Yagami Light develops a God-like complex after finding a book that allows him to kill people simply by writing down their names in it…

Mini Krishnan, the editor of Tell Me a Long, Long Story, explains in the preface how the anthology came to be. While she was putting together translations of some novellas from Indian regional languages for the Oxford University Press, she came across some stories that were neither short enough to be included in short-story collections nor long enough to be published independently. A typical short story tops out around 4,000 words, while the shortest novels weigh in around 50,000. But these ‘exceptional pieces of fiction’ were betwixt and between—in the range of about 8,000 to 20,000 words. This collection comprises 12 such stories, translated from Indian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Only one story, Chetan Raj Shrestha’s The King’s Harvest doesn’t…

JOURNEYS ARE NOT ALWAYS DRAMATIC OR culminate in experiences that are life altering, but travel has the inherent ability to soften the edges and for that time period, sweep you into a world that’s worthy of sighs. The possibility of stumbling on something novel, of being transported to a place that’s other worldly, keeps passionate travellers moving. As Spice celebrates travel this month, we realise that people seek different thrills from travel; while for some it is all about the journey, others want a pamper fest at their doorstep still others travel to eat some fantastic food from other cultures. Japan is a country that excites with its futuristic vision that is drawn from a humble past. While Japanese cuisine has stunned the world with its explosive flavours, simple ingredients…

The nineteenth century saw travel become a glamourous hobby of the well heeled with travel by ship becoming extremely popular. An extended journey by sea meant that one had to pack for all contingencies and the demand for bespoke luggage grew. From leather luggage, trunks, hat boxes and customised jewellery cases to pouches and purses, the sky was the limit. Four malletiers talk about the decadence of hand made luggage and why bespoke travel accessories are now on the list of every trend conscious globetrotter. The V Renaissance The founders of The V Renaissance, Vipul Amar and Harsheen Arora, like to call themselves curators rather than business owners. The duo and Gireesh Nair, a graphic designer, were brought together by their love for creating art. Vipul, a photographer and Harsheen,…

When the government introduced dynamic pricing for retail petroleum products on June 16 this year—under which domestic fuel prices would change daily, in tandem with international rates—there was little protest, if any, from the public. Today, however, with fuel prices having soared to three year highs, massive protests have erupted both on social media and on the ground. The reason—and background—for this is complicated. To begin with, dynamic pricing was introduced as a natural progression of India’s shift toward deregulated fuel prices. Petrol prices were first deregulated in 2010 (and diesel in 2014), though rates were then revised only on a fortnightly basis. This took place against a backdrop of massive fluctuations in the price of crude oil—for instance, from a high of $120 per barrel in January 2012, crude…

Them’s Fightin’ Words Sushma Swaraj, already a social media darling, was the tweeple’s heroine for her speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23. She made India proud, as the Prime Minister tweeted, on the world stage, reeling off India’s post-Independence successes while denigrating Pakistan. The External Affairs minister’s performance was all the more enjoyable for its lack of charity, its dismissive hauteur. Discombobulated by Swaraj’s precise savagery, the hapless Pakistani representative brandished a photograph of a Palestinian victim of Israeli violence, rather than one of the many grievously injured Kashmiri victims of Indian security forces’ pellet guns. How we laughed. Swaraj had hit Pakistan for six—now that’s cricket diplomacy. n Third-Degree College The bravery of the women protesting at Banaras Hindu University cannot be overstated.…

On Friday, September 22, 300 transgender and hijra entrepreneurs, artists, activists, leaders and members of the community gathered at a mall in south Delhi for the annual ‘Hijra Habba’, organised by the India HIV/ AIDS Alliance. There were several stalls to showcase arts and crafts and performances, including dance, qawwali and a fashion show. The theme for the event was ‘Inclusion—All Citizens Equal’. The event attracted a lot of spectators and the confidence on display was intended to be a message of empowerment. In between the cultural performances, ‘Hijra Habba’ manages to also be a high-powered networking event, an opportunity to make connections, find jobs and discuss pressing issues.…

RAM LAL Organisation secretary Looks after organisation; along with Shah, deals with the RSS via its joint general secretary Krishna Gopal, who is in charge of coordination BHUPENDRA YADAV General secretary Handles election management, Bihar and Gujarat state units KAILASH VIJAYVARGIYA General secretary In charge of West Bengal ANIL JAIN General secretary Coordinator for party programmes, in charge of Haryana and Chhattisgarh MURALIDHAR RAO General secretary In charge of party workers’ training, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka ARUN SINGH General secretary Handles party headquarters in Delhi and Odisha RAM MADHAV General secretary Handles northeast and Kashmir, specialises in forging political alliances…

‘Kamal is a great actor... and he has much untamed energy. But he may be too emotional for politics’ RAMU MANIVANNAN Political scientist The ‘big prize’ in Tamil Nadu’s political sweepstakes may be up for grabs given the void left behind by J. Jayalalithaa, who passed away last December, and M. Karunanidhi, who is now in his dotage. As has been the case for decades now, the titans of Tamil cinema are again the new contenders. Screen legend Kamal Haasan is the latest in Tamil Nadu’s ever-expanding galaxy of movie star-turned-politicos, and the first for some time to publicly articulate a desire to occupy Fort Saint George, the seat of the state government. The actor said as much in an india today Television exclusive on September 21, even though he…

› No, Nathuram Godse has not joined the Hindu pantheon as yet, but given the efforts of the Hindu Mahasabha since 2014 to instal his statues in temples across India, Gandhi's assassin may soon get in › Was Narad muni a god? Wasn’t he just a big gossip? To some in the Sangh, the Puranic sage is “ the first reporter of the universe” and deserves veneration › Both Khodiyar Amma (right) and Dasha Mata (above) have films, music albums, a Net presence and lots of little temples in Gujarat, Rajasthan › The Chinese Kali temple (left) of Kolkata? Worshipped by the city's Chinese community, the iconography looks standard, but not the prasad—noodles › A six-foot gold-plated Valmiki idol was installed by the Punjab government in an Amritsar temple, right…

Salt may significantly increase the risk of developing different forms of diabetes. Researchers led by Dr Bahareh Rasouli at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm suggest that sodium, which we commonly ingest through salt, could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes and latent auto-immune diabetes in adults (LADA). LADA is a more slowly progressing disease and it does not require insulin treatment initially. They say this may be because sodium impacts insulin resistance but also because excess salt can lead to hypertension and gaining of excess weight. The researchers found that each extra gram of sodium (or 2.5 gm of salt) per day was linked to a 43 per cent higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. For LADA, each extra gram of sodium led to a 73 per cent increase…

Batra’s sensitive film suggests love is born of loneliness, not desire Director Ritesh Batra’s third feature, Our Souls at Night, grabs the audience from practically the first line. “Would you be interested in coming to my house sometime to sleep with me?” the octogenarian Addie asks her neighbour, Louis. Addie’s directness seems entirely natural given she is essayed by Jane Fonda, who at 79 remains the epitome of cool. And it’s no surprise that the shy and awkward Louis (Robert Redford) agrees to the offer. Both are living out their last years alone. Based on the late Kent Haruf ’s final novel, Batra’s second adaptation after Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending is no rom-com for the elderly, but a sensitive, genteel relationship drama keen to highlight the nuances…

MILLIONS OF MUMBAIKARS walk past some of the city’s most remarkable buildings without ever realising that they’re prime specimens of the art deco style. Now, though, thanks to art enthusiast Atul Kumar’s efforts on the internet—under way now for a bit over a year—that’s starting to change. With their nautical designs, geometrical patterns, rounded balconies and ziggurats (rectangular stepped towers), The New India Assurance Building, Moti Mahal Building, Regal Cinema in South Mumbai and Pai Hospital in Dadar (and dozens more such in Bandra, Chembur and Mohammed Ali Road) make Mumbai one of the best cities in the world to admire the whimsical Arts Décoratifs style—which first appeared in France just before World War I. Only Miami Beach, Florida, can lay claim to a higher number. And Mumbai boasts some…

I block out the sound of chatter as I focus on the immense blue around me that colour codes the ocean into reef territory, lagoon and deep sea as it goes from aquamarine to blue-black within seconds. We are on a luxury yacht in the middle of the Indian Ocean and are on our way to Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Maldives. I move the strap of the watch on my wrist up and down as though to reduce an uncomfortable chafe, but the watch is far from uncomfortable. The Patravi Scuba Tec Manta Trust watch with a shimmering white dial is Carl F. Bucherer’s (CFB) latest wonder, one that will allow us to dive right in as we prepare to swim with manta rays.…

Dunes, dust, long days and longer daydreams, if these are the notes of your desert song, the new Westin Pushkar is a wild card entry. Hemmed by the mango groves and swathes of fragrant rose farms, this is the greenest version of the Aravallis, this side of the Thar. Located a mere dust storm away from the spiritual towns of Pushkar and Ajmer, the hotel is an oasis of intimate nooks that breathe in light and space. Pleasures of plenty Just short of an all-suite hotel, this property has only 18 rooms to 80 suites and villas, of which 44 villas and suites are sumptuously staffed with private pools, both indoor and outdoor. Dining and entertainment options offer a variety of casual and gourmet experiences with Seasonal Tastes, the signature…

From a 25-year-old Elizabeth Taylor doing laps across a pool while wearing a tiara; to the controversial affair between the Duke of Windsor and American socialite Wallis Simpson, Gem-fields’s recently commissioned tome Ruby is packed with stories as fiery as its namesake jewel. It reads like a splendid expedition, recorded by jewellery specialist and author Joanna Hardy, steering the reader from the source of the stone (mines in Burma, ancient silk trade routes in China, to the ruby deposit in Mozambique) to its use in lavishly crafted creations by major jewellery houses such as Cartier and Bulgari. Glorious images and illustrations of privately owned pieces of the social elite, sparkle both with rarity and opulence, as they punctuate the pages filled with stories about the intimate relationship between the ruby…